We have now reached the second full weekend of Pre-Season which means real NFL games are just around the corner. I’ve put together 5 preview articles that will break down the season win predictions for every team in football, and then look to the playoffs and what teams have value in the futures there. I have gone through the entire schedule, game by game and have found some great values on season win totals. I’ll highlight my top 5 plays along the way and get you my picks division by division. Wanna know anything else? Hit me up on twitter @TheGreatKnoche
NFC North – Well, Aaron Rodgers, also known as Brett Favre 2.0 is back. The Packers rolled in this division last year winning it by 5 games and earning the #1 seed in the NFC. They’ve assembled the best group of skill players surrounding Rodgers in the last 10 years. Departure of center Corey Linsley could shake things up on the line, but the defense returns mostly intact for the team with the 2nd largest point differential in 2020 and they should once again be the class of this division. Minnesota struggled out of the gate and defensively all year in 2020 finishing 7-9. With Kirk Cousins at the helm nothing is guaranteed, but they do have one of the best 1-2 combos at WR with Thielen and Jefferson. The Vikings didn’t do much to improve in the off-season, but did add Patrick Peterson to add some leadership on defense where they were the 2nd worst in the NFC in 2020. I can’t see the defense playing any worse than it did last year, so slight improvement is likely, but still see this team being right around .500. The Bears fans around the world heard Justin Fields and announced the Super Bowl was theirs this year. Heard the same thing with Mitchell Trubisky. The defense is good enough where it could get them there, but with 2 journeymen QBs and Fields I don’t see much improvement on offense unless Fields gets in early and really is the missing piece. He probably needs to be for them to move forward as the offensive line is brutal and a mobile QB gives them a much better chance at success. What can you say about the Lions? Well once again they have a new head coach. They traded away Matt Stafford after 12 years and look to Jared Goff. The team certainly appears to still be in its constant state of rebuilding. It’s not a leap to say the defense will play better, but wins look few and far between on this schedule. The NFC North gets the NFC West and AFC North as common opponents.
Green Bay 11-6
Minnesota 9-8
Chicago 7-10
Detroit 4-13
NFC East – Well, what was the worst division in football last year is back again for another shot at that title. Some people are seeing some improvement here. I beg to differ. The Washington Football Team had a top 5 defense in efficiency last year and was 4th overall in points allowed. Their defensive line is the best in football. While I’d like to think the addition of Fitzmagic and his beard along with Curtis Samuel and the returning McLaurin give them a valid threat on offense, I find it tough to believe a guy with a 59-86-1 record as a start leads them anywhere close to a dominant season. The Dallas Cowboys get Dak back after posting a 6-10 season without him. His return should give their offense much more prowess than it had in 2020. They should be a top offense in the league with top contributors at all skill positions and a decent O-Line. On defense many people are predicting a big turn around with the hiring of Dan Quinn, but not me. The team is still brutal in the secondary. Micah Parsons has a lot of hype coming in and should make plays all over the field. The D-line is serviceable, but hardly elite. They’re gonna have to win shootouts. The New York football Giants enter Joe Judge season 2 hoping to turn things around on the offensive side of the ball. Getting Saquon Barkley back should help, as will getting Kenny Golladay and drafting Karadius Toney. On defense they have solid play at all three levels and I could see them finishing well inside the top 10 for defensive efficiency this year. The Eagles are now Jalen Hurts’ team. You remember him, the guy who Tua replaced in the NCAA title game a few years back. This is a roster in flux along with the coaching staff with new coordinators on both sides of the ball. There’s just a lot of unknown with this team and I see them finishing poorly because of that. This division will come down to who wins in December as Washington finishes with 5 straight game in division, Dallas and New York play 4 of their final 5 in division and Philly has 3/5. The NFC East common opponents are brutal with the NFC South and AFC West
Washington 8-9
Dallas 7-10
New York 7-10
Philadelphia 5-12
Free Picks:
Team Total Win Bet Free Pick: Dallas Cowboys Team Total under 9.5 -110. This is my number 4 Team total win play. Many people are picking Dallas to win this division and win 10 or 11 games, but Vegas set this line here for a reason and it’s their defense and the brutal common opponents schedule for the NFC East. Opponents are going to be in every game no matter how many points they score. I think Dallas would have to go 6-0 in the division to get to 10 wins, and it’s just not going to happen.
